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Instant Pot Red Lentil Soup with Lemon

red lentil soup in a white bowl with cream and basil

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4.8 from 12 reviews

Nutritious, delicious, and ready in minutes, this Instant Pot Red Lentil Soup is layers of sweet, earthy, and bright flavors.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small sweet or yellow onion, diced
  • 3 medium carrots, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 6 cups low sodium chicken broth (or vegetable)
  • 1 1/2 cups rinsed red lentils
  • 3/4 cup canned, fresh, or frozen sweet corn
  • zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (omit for a no spicy heat)
  • pinch of saffron (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

for serving: torn fresh basil for garnish, heavy cream, lemon wedges

Instructions

  1. Preheat the pressure cooker by selecting saute.  Add oil.
  2. When hot, add onions and carrots and saute for 5 minutes.  Add garlic and stir for 1 minute.
  3. Add chicken broth, lentils, corn, lemon juice and zest, cumin, curry powder, turmeric, red pepper flakes, saffron, salt, and pepper; stir.
  4. Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position.  Cook at high pressure for 7 minutes.
  5. When cooking is complete, use a quick release.
  6. Puree soup to desired consistency with an immersion blender.  For a regular blender, puree about 1/3 of the soup then return it to the pot.
  7. Serve hot with a garnish of basil, a swirl of cream, and a squeeze of lemon.  Extra fresh cracked pepper is also amazing.
  8. Leftovers can be refrigerated up to 5 days or frozen for at least 3 months.

Notes

  • Saffron can be a very expensive spice.  While it adds great flavor to the soup, you won’t miss it if you omit it
  • Use red lentils for this soup to achieve maximum creaminess, not brown or green.